Market roundup: February 2018

North America

DW News is now being broadcast once every day on the public broadcasting channel WHUT-TV in Washington DC. The new partnership is the third for DW News in the US capital along with the channels MHz 11 and MHz Worldview. WHUT can be received by around 2.4 million households.

Asia

At the Cable TV Equipments Traders & Manufacturers Association (CTMA) trade fair in Kolkata, India, DW added 30 new partners and extended numerous contracts with Bangladeshi channels rebroadcasting DW’s English channel in Bangladesh. The CTMA trade fair in east India is a magnet for the Bangladeshi broadcasting industry. The partnerships will bring DW to an estimated 1 million households in Bangladesh.

An Indian news website, the Wire Urdu, is including content from DW Urdu. The Wire is one of India’s most respected online news providers. Their newly launched Urdu service already has over 100,000 visitors every month.

DW has a new VOD partner in Thailand. Hollywood HDTV will broadcast DW’s English channel to a estimated 150,000 customers.

Europe

After a new agreement recently with the IPTV and DTH platform MEO, DW (Deutsch) will be available to 700,000 subrscribers in Portugal. MEO is operated by Portugal Telecom. The new partnership expands the current cooperation with DW’s English channel, which currently has 1 million subscribers.

Also in Portugal, DW is now available in English and German in 75,000 hotel rooms across the country.

An evolving strategy for the changing landscape

DW’s digital strategy is focused on creating solutions for digital distribution that drive online content and diversify platforms. Flexibility to changes like those at Facebook is the key to long-term success.

Facebook recently announced changes to its news feed that could prioritize posts from family and friends over publisher’s content and news articles. Facebook Watch is another change being rolled out that will shift the focus on video content that is shorter than what is on television but longer than what is now seen in the news feed.

An important area of focus right now for DW’s digital content is producing short online videos that can be easily posted and shared. These are specially produced for social media, rather than being repackaged TV content. But with Facebook Watch soon to change the landscape, DW will be focusing on developing video content that fits this new model.

In a recent blog post, DW’s head of digital programming, Ellen Schuster said that the new model presents a chance for content that has already an established community online. “They will get a new playing field that includes the possibility with better data analysis to offer what the community wants more directly.”

A similar strategy is how DW uses YouTube, which is the second largest search engine after Google. DW has created multiple channels that streamline long-form content and make it easier for users to choose what categories and issues they want, rather then having to choose from a mass of content. One of the most successful channels is DW Documentary, which features a new documentary every week exploring everything from travel and tech to politics and society.

While media companies can’t control changes in the third party platforms they depend on, change presents a challenge and a chance for growth. Online content is where the audience of the future is going to be and DW will be where they are clicking and watching.

Also in Vietnam, National Assembly TV (NaTV), is broadcasting the DW programs In Good Shape, Tomorrow Today, Check in and Arts.21 – in English with Vietnamese subtitles. NaTV, part of public broadcaster VOV TV, provides coverage of parliament, local politics and general news.

Detik.com is Indonesia’s most popular news website with almost a billion monthly page views. Detik is also one of DW’s premier online partners in Asia and since last month, it has been including DW articles in Bahasa Indonesia as an important part of its international news content.

Mongolsat Networks, a newly founded Mongolian DTH provider, is now including DW’s English-language in its basic package. Mongolsat broadcasts 40 TV channels.

DW’s Urdu-language science magazine Sawal is being broadcast on Pakistan’s Express TV, one of the most popular news channels in the country.

Shababtalk awards talented Iraqi youth

DW’s talk show for Arab youth, Shababtalk, tackles important issues and gives young people a platform to speak out about cultural and social taboos. The show recently went a step further in Iraq with the Shababtalk Award, which put talented young Iraqis onstage to display their talents and ideas.

In October Shababtalk went on social media in Iraq with a call for short videos entries covering talents and projects. In late November five winners were announced and the prizes were given out by local celebrities in music, art, social engagement. Included was Melon City, a popular Iraqi satire show.

Shababtalk has made a big impact in locations across the Arab World. Since 2015, the show has been going on the road to get close to the audience and explore the issues that matter to them most. Shababtalk has also received numerous awards itself, most recently being awarded the Mediterranean Journalist Award.

Over 220 guests attended the awards ceremony in Baghdad, including local bloggers, activists and opinion makers. Local partners Alrasheed TV and Iraki Media Network broadcast the awards ceremony. The Shababtalk Award will be given out every year in a different Arab country.

Market roundup: December 2017

Africa

Since November, DW has been broadcasting Germany’s premier soccer league, the Bundesliga, in Portuguese via eight radio partners in Mozambique and one partner in Guinea-Bissau. DW also added three new Mozambican DW radio partners – Radio Arco in Homoine, Radio Vida in Nampula and Radio Voz Coop in the capital Maputo

DW’s English-language TV channel is available throughout South Africa on the online streaming service Digital Discover, being offered by the media group Vubiquity.

Europe

DW’s flagship English-language television channel is now being offered on the popular streaming services Zattoo and Waipu.tv. Zattoo is Europe’s most-used streaming service and will provide direct and easy access to DW television on devices ranging from smartphones to Smart TV. Waipu.tv is a German streaming service that will include DW’s English channel in its basic package.

Asia

Clip TV, a popular multiplatform streaming service in Vietnam, now carries DW’s English-language TV channel in its basic package. The service is the VOD arm of Vietnam’s most successful online and mobile provider, Vega Corporation.

DW’s Urdu and Pashto science program, Sawal, is being broadcast in Pakistan on Aruj TV, which reaches over 6 million households. The primary coverage areas are in the provinces Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Karachi.

DW’s Indonesian science program Inovator has been growing in popularity in Indonesia. A new partnership with the Malang-based TV station UBTV will bring the program to an estimated 900,000 people in the East Java region.